Dare To Change

Change.

We love it, we fear it.
We seek it, we resist it.
We are both thrilled by it, and terrified of it.

Change.

Its promise moves us into the morning.
Its challenge drops us into night’s sleep.
Ever on the horizon, leaving a trail of evidence close behind.

Change.

We adore it, we abhor it.
We need it, we avoid it.
We continually crave it, and combat it at every corner.

Change.

It is ever present; but can never be caught.
It is our healer and destroyer, the great physician, the last mortician.
It breaks our heart, and renews our spirit.

Change.

It is the shadow of Time.
We are imprisoned by it, bound to it, there is no escape.
It holds the key to our freedom.

Change.

We can never step into the same river twice.
A person is never the same from day to day.
We can start over at any time.
We can choose who we want to be in every given moment.
Choose Wisely.

Change.

A Fresh Sea Breeze

As many of you know, we’ve moved to Victoria BC, on Vancouver Island. It has been officially two weeks since we arrived, and the days have just flown by! We’ve been busying ourselves with tasks such as finding an apartment to rent, purchasing a few essential items like a table, dishes, some chairs, a mattress to sleep on... you get the idea, and most importantly seeking out a space from which we can begin teaching Ashtanga yoga Mysore classes from.

We purchased some plants a couple days ago. This, in my opinion, seems to be the ultimate symbol for ‘putting down roots,’ and beginning to grow in a new place, in a new way; integrating into a new community. The change and ‘newness’ of everything is very exciting for us, and all around we’re seeing so much possibility and potentiality. So, needless to say, we’re enjoying ourselves immensely.

Even in all this though, we’re being conscious to keep living from moment to moment, and doing our best to keep focused on what is immediately present and positive. For if the mind is left unchecked it wanders much too easily over into the territory of worry, and begins to feel the heavy weight of the future closing in. The mind tends to create anxiety, and gravitate towards what is negative, especially during times of transition, or under circumstances where there is a lot of uncertainty. It is especially important then during these times to be even more aware, and vigilant in guiding our thoughts towards inspiration, and lightness.

We’ve received many encouraging emails from so many wonderful people from around the world, and I can’t explain how much we appreciate all of the support from everyone. It has helped to keep our spirits high from day to day, and to feel closely connected to a larger global network of yoga practitioners and friends. These notes are such a blessing to us as we continue our search for the perfect space to transform into a little yoga haven. We know it’s coming…

Do you ever have those moments in your life when you just feel like you’re in exactly the right place at exactly the right time? Well, I’ve been having these moments all the time here. I feel so fortunate to be realizing a dream that I’ve held onto for the past decade. To live in a place that has always held a very special place in my heart, and then to be able to share the teachings of this profound practice with others who are also here. It feels like every experience from the past has been culminating to this very moment in time, and really I feel like I’m merely witnessing the unfolding of it.

Each day I begin to understand more what Krishna means in the Bhagavad-Gita when he says, “all actions take place in time by the interweaving of the forces of Nature; but the man lost in selfish delusion thinks ‘I am the doer’.” (BG 3:27). Now it is just learning to surrender even more, and then be open to receive.

Peace & Love,
Harmony

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Here is something I recently read, and felt compelled to share...

"Isn't man an amazing animal? He kills wildlife by the millions in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed. Then he kills domestic animals by the billions and eats them. This in turn kills man by the millions, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative - and fatal - health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and cancer. So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases. Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently, and once a year send out cards praying for "Peace on Earth."
- Preface from Old MacDonald's Factory Farm, by C. David Coates

If you want to enjoy a good, fast, and hilarious book filled with many sad truths, check out a great little gem called Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. Definitely worth the read, and if this book doesn't motivate you to change a few things, I'm not sure what will!

Musings on The Way of Love

We arrived in Calgary, Canada, last week, and at the airport to greet us was my sister in-law along with her new three month old baby. This was the first time I had met my niece, as Jeff and I have been traveling and living in India for the past nine months.

It was amazing to observe the amount of love that this beautiful little being could draw out of every person who came into her sphere of influence. It reminded me that at the very core of every human being there is a deep need not only to be loved, but to also give love, and at the heart of every personal relationship there is the promise of possibility for the wellspring of love to open.

When Mother Teresa opened her mission in San Francisco, one of the wealthiest cities in one of the richest countries on the planet, people asked her “why there?” What could the people of San Francisco possibly need from the Sisters of Charity? Her reply was, “there is hunger for ordinary bread, and there is hunger for love, for kindness, for thoughtfulness; and this is the great poverty that makes people suffer so much.”
We all need love. It is an essential part of what we are as human beings, and is every bit as necessary to life as nourishment is for the body.

All of the world’s great religions reiterate this message in different ways: love is our real nature. Mechthild of Magdeburg was a medieval mystic and Benedictine nun, who wrote: “The soul is made of love, and must ever strive to return to love. Therefore, it can never find rest nor happiness in other things. It must lose itself in love.” In other words, our hunger for love is a profound yearning to reconnect with our essential Self, which is fundamentally spiritual in nature.

There is a great misconception that a ‘spiritual practice’ will take you out of the world, and that living a spiritual life means turning your back on your family or community, and cloistering your self far away from society.

In actuality, our spiritual practices should enrich our relationships with others, not only with our family and friends, but with strangers as well. As we become more established in the practices of yoga and meditation, our ability to act selflessly expands more and more, and consequently, our ability to love deepens and allows us to embrace all living beings. In the Bhagavad-Gita, this spiritual path is called: The Way of Love.
The Bible states: “God is Love.” Deepening and strengthening our relationships with one another is a sure way to manifest the grace of God in our daily lives. Evidently, as we create more and more love in our relationships and interactions with each other, we will start to uncover our connection to that Divine Reality that is most often called “God.”

Through our yoga practice we can begin to integrate this Reality of Love into our personality, consciousness, and conduct. Yoga is about creating union. True union has love at its core, and only through the cultivation of unconditional love can a genuine transformation occur.

Beloved Guruji - You Reside Forever in Our Hearts.

Our Beloved Guruji, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois left his body yesterday, May 18, at 2:30 pm (Indian Standard Time).

Our love and condolences are extended to Sharath, Saraswathi, and the rest of his family.

We were deeply saddened to hear this news, although it was not altogether unexpected.
We feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to say goodbye to Guruji in person while we were in Mysore last month. We had a very pleasant exchange with him, as he was in good spirits and feeling some strength the day we came to visit. Jeff and I both felt it would be the last time that we would see him in his bodily form, and so we made sure to tell him how grateful we were to him for his teachings and the practice, and how his influence had forever changed our lives for the better. I knew we were expressing the feelings of countless others as we spoke, and it felt good to be able to say these things to him face to face, and to know that he understood the love and appreciation we held for him in the depth of our beings.

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois has touched millions of people both directly and indirectly, and because of his presence and teachings, countless lives have been improved. We feel very close to the global community of Ashtanga Yoga practitioners at this time, as we all share these same feelings of deep gratitude, love, devotion, and reverence for Guruji. We will continue to keep his memory alive through our dedication to the practice, and through our love and support of each other.

Even though my heart is heavy today, I cannot help but smile as I remember him shining so vibrantly in his yoga shala as he would yell "bad lady" from across the room, or adjust me in some posture, or make his 'grunt of approval' as he would walk by, or as he would tilt his head to one side and ask "what news?" when we would come to visit... and I know he continues to shine even more so now.

Guruji's light will forever burn brightly in our hearts and minds, and we will keep his fire and passion alive as we humbly share with others the spark of energy he imprinted upon us.

Many blessings to all those who have been touched by this Mahatma, he truly was a Great Soul, and a Light along our path. If only words could express all the feelings that are flooding my heart at this time...

We love you Guruji.
May your travels be swift and peaceful.